Hundreds of tourist industry players from 42 nations are due to conclude discussions on breaking down barriers in the sector at the Africa Tourism Leadership Forum in Gaborone, Botswana.
The sixth tourism forum, which began with a masterclass session on Tuesday, will today focus on forging public-private sector partnerships to thoughtfully leverage concessions for tourism development in African communities, as well as tough talk about intra-Africa connectivity and travel costs.
“The cost of a ticket between Lome and Accra … when you add the government taxes and all, you then end up with about a ticket of about 400 dollars for a 15-minute flight, so what we are proposing is that these types of flights, internally, should be considered domestic, rather than international flights.”
Beatrice Chaytor – Head of Division, Trade in Services DTIID, AfCFTA Secretariat says to mitigate the cost of air travel in Africa some short flights from one country to another, currently classified as international flights, should be considered domestic flights.
Sub-Saharan Africa alone has the potential to create 3.8 million new jobs development, emphasizing its importance in the region over the next development.
The Creative and Cultural Industries (CCI) have also emerged as vital economic drivers, generating up to $2.250 trillion in global revenues annually and employing nearly 30 million people worldwide, primarily youth.
Services now account for 87% of total female employment in high-income countries (up from 80% in 2000), 62% in upper-middle-income countries (up from 40%), 43% in lower-middle-income countries (up from 29%), and 30% in low-income countries (up from 19%). This report finds that 54% of people employed in tourism worldwide are women. Women form an integral part of CCIs in Africa.
